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Howdy all in Lions Land,

One week to go until the draft! WOO-HOO! Happy days are coming I can feel it! We are now 7 days away from the NFL Draft and thus far the Lions have not signed the number one overall. Does this mean a trade is in the works for the number one? We can only speculate because the Lions front-office has been so tight lipped about everything, we can only guess. I would have thought the Lions front office would have the player signed since Martin Mayhew wants it done before the draft. Maybe they have a preliminary deal in place and are just waiting on getting a few i’s dotted and t’s crossed. This is one of my biggest entries on my blog filled with lots of links. There is a tone of info so please eat up and enjoy.

The Lions have released their 2009 schedule which you can check out here.
http://www.detroitlions.com/section_display.cfm?section_id=13&top=21&level=2

I am always the optimist when it comes to the Lions so I am going out on a limb and say the Lions will go .500 an even 8-8 record. But if they achieve between 5 and 7 wins that is a good step in the right direction towards getting some respectability in the league, avoiding the number one overall pick next year and opening the doors for free-agents that want to come to a competitive team and not a complete burnt-out wreck. The schedule is difficult the first half, starting with a game on the road at the New Orleans Saints but it gets easier as it goes. Thankfully our bye week is after week 6 and not an early bye like we are always stuck with.

Brian VanOchten from the Grand Rapids Press assessment of the Lions schedule is a bit bleaker and you know maybe he is a realist. I am a kool-aid drinking, ready to leap off a cliff with the other lemmings fan so I cannot be too objective when it comes to the Lions expectations. Here is his story from MLive about the Lions schedule including an interview on the Huge Show with Bill Simonson. We are not going 1-15 like Bill Simonson is suggesting. He is nothing but a Lions basher so you cannot take anything is says as credible. Just like Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press, both men have grown so bitter that they believe nothing good will ever become of the Lions.
http://blog.mlive.com/twominutedrill/2009/04/early_look_at_the_lions_schedu.html

On Monday the Lions will have a press conference on the new logo and uniform change. Check out the press release from the Detroit Lions web site.
http://www.detroitlions.com/document_display.cfm?document_id=483516
http://blog.mlive.com/twominutedrill/2009/04/readers_respond_lions_right_to.html

Lions QB Daunte Culpepper is back to old-form, getting in much better shape and ready to be the teams’ leader. It’s not that I dislike Daunte Culpepper but he is not the long term solution. He is short term; especially if they draft Matthew Stafford they will guide him and prepare him to be the starter. Here are a couple of articles from MLive about Daunte Culpepper preparing himself in camp.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2009/04/daunte_culpepper_looks_good_ot.html
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2009/04/daunte_culpepper_looks_sharp_a.html

As most of you have heard John Madden has decided to retire as a football broadcaster which leaves Cris Collinsworth as the voice of football. I am sure going to miss John Madden. I really enjoyed him calling Monday Night Football with Al Michaels. I wish him all the best in his retirement. Here is that story from MLive.
http://blog.mlive.com/twominutedrill/2009/04/cris_collinsworth_replacing_jo.html

Coach Jim Schwartz is mixing it up in the locker room and working hard to build team chemistry. They have assigned parking and have made new locker assignments. The team needs to be much better cohesively. I believe they are making great strides in that area.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2009/04/gerald_alexander_practices_lio.html

The Lions have added a couple of new faces to the locker room, WR Ronald Curry and FB Terrelle Smith.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2009/04/lions_view_ronald_curry_in_slo.html
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2009/04/lions_sign_free_agents_wr_rona.html

Here is a Podcast from Brian VanOchten about draft possibilities.
http://blog.mlive.com/twominutedrill/2009/04/_matthew_stafford_jason_smith.html

The decision to draft Matthew Stafford, Aaron Curry, Eugene Monroe or Jason Smith is a crossroads. If you take Jason Smith or Eugene Monroe you have immediate payoff on the O Line. If you take Aaron Curry you get a pro-bowler linebacker. If you draft Matthew Stafford you have a franchise quarterback for the next ten years. Matthew Stafford was on the Jimmy Fallon show this past Thursday doing a little skeet shooting with a football. You need to check out this video it is pretty sweet.
http://blog.mlive.com/highlightreel/2009/04/video_skeet_shooting_matthew_s.html

Pat Kirwan senior draft analyst from the NFL has a story about team needs in the NFC North which also includes a video from Lions beat writer Tom Killer Kowalski about the Lions draft possibilities. The information is somewhat old but a few valid points are still relevant.
http://www.nfl.com/draft/story?id=09000d5d80f808a3&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true

Mel Kiper from ESPN believes the Lions should draft Matthew Stafford. I also need to sort through some confusion. I was initially against drafting Matthew Stafford because as anyone can see the O Line and D Line have major gapping holes in them. Matthew Stafford is just too good to pass up. A lot of fans out there are against this because we have been so bad in drafting QB’s Joey Harrington, Andre Ware and Chuck Long as some prime examples. We need to get over that fear collectively.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2009/04/mel_kiper_sticks_to_his_guns_a.html

To further solidify the argument of taking Stafford with the number one overall there is little chance of getting a QB with the 20th pick in the first round. If the Lions draft Curry, Monroe or Smith with the number one overall, Mark Sanchez, Josh Freeman and Matthew Stafford will all be gone by the time we get to the 20th. So then they might take a QB in a later round like Graham Harrell from Texas Tech. Here is an interview with Chad Reuter, a draft expert who explains the depth of QB’s in this draft class.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2009/04/nfl_draft_expert_interview_cha.html

Here are two articles from MLive highlighting pros and cons if the Lions play it safe with Aaron Curry or Eugene Monroe. Here are those articles by Tom Kowalski about risks and rewards with both of those players.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2009/04/aaron_curry_will_the_lions_go.html
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2009/04/eugene_monroe_still_in_the_run.html

So much attention has been given to the Lions number one spot but what about the 20th pick? Well it depends what they do with the first and what other teams pick before they get to the 20th which is the most obvious. We can hope that the last good OT Michael Oher is there at 20 but if not there is hope of taking LB Rey Maualuga to play middle.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2009/04/rey_maualuga_will_lions_finall.html

So with the Second Round pick I would like to see the Lions take James Laurinaitis to play middle if they take OT Michael Oher at the 20th spot in the first round. Then take the best DE and DT or a Safety with the two picks in the third round. Well that’s about it. I am going to have another post sometime mid-week after the new colors and logo have been announced and hopefully we know the number one pick. Until next time GO LIONS!